Meta

Welcome to Breakthroughs

Hello! Welcome to Breakthroughs, a site devoted to sharing with you the latest, greatest advancements from the College of Science at Oregon State University. From breakthroughs in research to transformational philanthropy to interesting tidbits from the daily life of the College, we'll post frequently to keep you up-to-date. Please visit often and absolutely let us know what you might like to learn more about. Enjoy, and of course, GO BEAVS!

Archive for the ‘Geosciences’ Category

MELTING MOUNTAIN glaciers and warming rains drive debris flows, torrents of mud and rock that have damaged roads, closed recreational facilities and led to millions of dollars in clean-up costs in the Northwest. Climate change is likely to increase risks in the future. WITH FUNDING from the National Science Foundation, OSU geologists Anne Nolin and Stephen Lancaster work with U.S. Forest Service hydrologist Gordon Grant to understand the debris-flow causes and to map vulnerable areas in the Cascades.

Even though this earthquake was weaker than last year’s event, it was much shallower; was situated directly under Christchurch; hit during the lunch hour when more people were exposed to damage; and shook sediments that were prone to “liquefaction,” which can magnify the damage done by the ground shaking.

Robert Yeats, a professor emeritus of geology at Oregon State University, who is an international earthquake expert and researcher on both New Zealand and U.S. seismic risks, says that same description nicely fits many major cities and towns in Washington, Oregon, California and British Columbia.

“The latest New Zealand earthquake hit an area that wasn’t even known to have a fault prior to last September, it’s one that had not moved in thousands of years,” Yeats said. “But when you combine the shallow depth, proximity to a major city and soil characteristics, it was capable of immense damage.

Bob Yeats would like you to know he cannot predict earthquakes. He is not prophetic. He claims no association with the supernatural. He can’t tell you when disaster will strike.

But Yeats, an emeritus professor in geosciences at Oregon State University, has been mapping fault lines for more than 40 years and can tell you when a quake is overdue. And he can tell you what areas of the world are most likely to suffer the greatest impact when one occurs.

An Oregon State University research program has returned to Collier Glacier for the first time in almost 20 years and found that the glacier has decreased more than 20 percent from its size in the late 1980s.

The findings are consistent with glacial retreat all over the world and provide some of the critical data needed to help quantify the effects of global change on glacier retreat and associated sea level rise.

Flowing down the flanks of the Three Sisters in the central Oregon Cascade Range, Collier Glacier is at an elevation of more than 7,000 feet. It’s one of the largest glaciers in Oregon and is on a surprisingly short list – maybe 100 in the entire world – of glaciers that have been intensively studied and monitored for extended periods of time.

Researchers led by a professor at Oregon State University said they finally have confirmed what some scientists have believed for some time: that the last ice age ended because of a slight shift in the Earth’s orbit. The findings could help scientists predict how the planet’s remaining ice will be affected by global warming as well as when the planet will again be topped by miles-thick ice.

OSU geosciences professor Peter Clark is the lead author of a paper published this week in the journal Science. A joint project undertaken by several universities and government agencies, the study pinpointed the timing of the last ice age in an effort to determine which of several planet­wide changes brought the Earth out of the freezer.

For teachers planning to focus on volcanoes this year, see this Web site maintained by Dr. Shan de Silva, professor of geosciences at Oregon State University. The site includes curricula, a kids page, a blog about ongoing volcanic activity and a world map showing volcano locations.

There is evidence that this current has shut down with some regularity in the past — and sometimes quite rapidly — in response to large influxes of fresh water from melting glaciers.

However, it appears as though the current rate of glacial melt is occurring at a more gradual pace which will “give ecosystems more time to adjust to new conditions,” said study coauthor Peter Clark, a professor of geosciences at Oregon State University.